Gray

GrayOn tour and off his meds, the rock star at the center of Gray is the self-destructive sort, unable to cope with the harsh glare of fame,...GrayPop CultureJames Montgomery, Pete WentzOn tour and off his meds, the rock star at the center of Gray is the self-destructive sort, unable to cope with the harsh glare of fame,...2013-02-15MTV Books

On tour and off his meds, the rock star at the center of Gray is the self-destructive sort, unable to cope with the harsh glare of fame, the drudgery of life on the road, or his longing for a lost love back in Chicago. It’s not hard to imagine he’s a version of the author, a founding member of the band Fall Out Boy. Wentz offers plenty of color, treating readers like silent plus-ones as he whisks them through a world of pierced groupies, colored cocaine, and French whores — and that’s just in the first chapter. Unfortunately, things don’t progress much from there. The voyeurism provides a cheap thrill, and Wentz can turn a nice phrase — he’s a songwriter, after all — but the plot is overwritten and underdeveloped. C+